Ron Paul 2012 Presidential 'Testing The Waters' Organization Launches

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) recently formed a presidential "testing the waters" organization for the next election cycle, Politico reports.

An aide to the Texas congressman who made an unsuccessful bid for president in 2008 told the outlet that the step was taken with the expectation that the potential candidate would soon form an exploratory committee.

The director of LibertyPAC, Paul's political action committee, told Politico, "He remains undecided on what his plans will be, but as a final decision draws closer, his team has put the pieces in place for him to flip a switch and hit the ground running if he decides to run for president."

The news comes in the wake of reports that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the congressman's son, is mulling a presidential campaign. The Kentucky Republican has signaled that he will not run should his father launch a campaign; however, he said the odds are better than 50-50 that one Paul will be in it to win it in 2012.

"I think there will be one on the ballot," the senator said last month while speaking to reporters in his home state. "I think there's a good chance of that."

His father was in the crucial primary state of New Hampshire on Thursday. During a college campus stop, Ron Paul said he hasn't ruled out running for president again but isn't on the verge of making a decision.

Ron Paul said his focus right now is on the nation's economy and whether it worsens, signaling its course could influence his decision.

"If we get a reprieve and things just look great, I might not be as enthusiastic," the elder Paul told reporters after a speech at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H. "But if it continues like right now, it makes it almost inevitable that somebody will have to start talking about what we need to do."

For the second consecutive year, the Texas congressman recently came out on top in the much-hyped straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

UPDATE (1:56 p.m. ET) -- Paul aide Jesse Benton tells CBS News that the potential presidential candidate "is close to making a final decision and it is better than 50-50 that he will enter the race in May."